Medal of Honor
Score: 100% ESRB: Teen Publisher: EA Games Developer: EA Games Media: CD/1 Players: 1 Genre: First Person Shooter
Graphics & Sound: What can I say, but amazing! Medal of Honor is quite simply cinematic in nature. The in-game graphics are outstanding, with oh-so-much attention paid to detail, even down to the 'Achtung' printed on the alarms. The intro really sets the mood for subterfuge as you are treated to old style newsreels about the German menace, followed by your briefing, which seems very realistic. My favorite of all has got to be the 'Conversational German'. Hilarious. And then there are the sound effects. They completely immerse you in the game. The symphonic strains playing in the background keep you in tune with what is happening all around you. There are Germans calling things out to one another from off in the distance such as 'Intruder!' or 'American spy!' and more often than not, random German banter. The gunfire and explosions are very effective in convincing you of their realism, and when that first German soldier hits that alarm and they all come running after you, it will rattle you a bit. Oh, and the alarm stays on for quite some time to shake your nerves further. Even the paper shuffling and clicking as you scroll through the War Room choices (Options Menu) feel real. I can't impress on you enough how incredible Medal of Honor is. I have not come across another game that paid more attention to every little detail imaginable.
Gameplay: Oh boy. Where do I start? It's a 1st person shooter, and I must admit I shied away at first for this reason as these type games normally give me motion sickness (despite that fact that I LOVE them). I didn't experience one problem with Medal of Honor. I'm not sure what the difference is, but it allowed me to remain glued to this game, well, even still. Your role is that of Jimmy Patterson, American serviceman chosen based on your courage and ingenuity to perform elite spy missions of all types against the Germans. You will be sent to do everything from recovering sensitive data to taking out huge weaponry to even destroying U-boats and more. You name it, you do it. But man, is it ever fun! Let me warn you Quake fans out there, if you haven't learned the value of stealth, you had better learn before you pick this one up (yes, buy - don't bother renting). Stealth is everything and it also helps if you are a good shot as well. In the early levels, you will be sneaking around German camps and nearby towns searching for data/planes/people and it will be relatively easy. Ok, not easy, but the Germans aren't really paying attention. They don't yet realize your threat, so you can catch them sleeping and cap 'em quick with your scope rifle. In later levels, it becomes far more difficult as they are on the lookout for you, since you have been so very naughty and have been wrecking their program for a while. The AI in this game is just awesome, though. It feels like they lay in wait for you, and sometimes while you are hiding, you'll hear gunfire. But they aren't shooting at you. They are just tormenting you, messing with your head. And it works, very effectively as a matter of fact. Let me just say this - Medal of Honor brought back that old feeling that I haven't had since I popped the original Tomb Raider into my PSX so many years ago. The feeling of being driven to play this game until 3am in the morning (Geck0 literally had to pry the controller out of my hands and make me go to sleep). The feeling that there cannot be another game as good as this one. I do not use this term lightly, but Medal of Honor is truly the most amazing game I have ever played. I only hope that this is the new standard by which all games will be measured. I know it is as far as I am concerned.
Difficulty: Excellent! First off, the AI is razor sharp almost all of the time. As I mentioned, early levels will cut you slack as you build up your skills. The Germans are unsuspecting and leave things wide open for your cunning and cruel maneuvers. Geck0 was in awe at my heartlessness as I walked up to a lone soldier, showed him my papers, chatted a bit and then blew his head off as soon as he turned around. But that is often what it took. In later levels, the Germans are on the lookout for you, so you can't just wander about and search everything. In fact, if you follow some of them, they turn around and glance at you in suspicion and hit the alarm when they pass it, calling everyone else. Even worse still, some will approve your papers, saying they are in order, and then as you pass, they'll hit the alarm and then shoot you down. Very clever, and totally took me by surprise. Suffice it to say that the difficulty is perfect in this game, just like everything else about it.
Game Mechanics: Well, as Jimmy Patterson, you will come across a number of handy weapons to assist you in your missions. You'll start off with a basic rifle and pick up shells and grenades as you kill off enemies. So if you are running low on ammo, you have to kill to get more, which makes much more sense than just finding it lying around on the ground everywhere. Now, you will come across cases of ammo and boxes of grenades, etc scattered about, but they aren't abundant. I prefer the thrill of the hunt, myself. Some missions you start with only your 'official' papers and the smile on your face, and you have to 'neutralize' officers to upgrade your papers. Groovy. You can crawl to get into those little out-of-the-way places like airshafts which lead to important German guys' offices. You can strafe left and right, but most importantly, you can aim with your scope. Stealth and cleverly thought-out moves are integral to success in this game. If you are still reading this review, shame on you. Hurry up and go BUY THIS GAME! It is well worth the cost.
-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications AKA Ashley Perkins
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